Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - Region: South Asia, grade: 1,0, Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH, language: English, abstract: India is a constitutional democracy with a bicameral parliament that consist of an Upper House (Council of States or Rajya Sabha) and a Lower House, while the Lower House is more powerful and thus more important for the purpose of this paper. It consists of 545 members, who, with the exception of two members who are appointed by the president are elected by popular vote. This paper deals with the situation of women in parliament, i.e. in the Lower House. Therefore the words “parliament” and “Lower House” will be used as synonyms for the purpose of the paper.

This book traces the trajectory of the Indian Parliament from its formation to present day. The essays presented here explore parliamentary democracy through the formative years and highlight the Parliament’s function as a representative and accountable institution, its procedures and responsibility, its connection with the other arms of the state, its relationship with grassroots democracy and the press, and its critical role in framing foreign policy and national security. The volume frames major debates surrounding the Parliament through historical, conceptual and contemporary political perspectives. It also looks at how politics in practice is being continuously changed and challenged by new social media and further views the transformation of India’s apex legislative institution in terms of democratizing processes, constitutional values and changing mores. The book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of Indian politics, history, comparative politics, political science and modern India.

The Parliament is the visible face of democracy in India. It is the epicentre of political life, public institutions of great verve, and a regime of Rights. In a first-of-its-kind study, this book delves into the lived experience of the Indian Parliament by focusing on three distinct phases—the 1950s, the 1970s, and the 1990s and beyond. The authors argue against the widely held notion of its ongoing decline, and demonstrate how it has repeatedly, and successfully, responded to India's changing needs in six decades of existence. This comprehensive and authoritative study examines the changing social composition and differing modes of representation that make up the Lok Sabha and critically explores its relation with the Rajya Sabha. Developments in the institutional complex of the Parliament, including the functioning of the Opposition and the Speaker are traced over time, along with the processes of legislation and accountability. Major debates in the House are scrutinized, and much of the analysis is based on empirical data gathered from surveys circulated among prominent politicians and public intellectuals. It also addresses the intricate issue of relations between the Judiciary and the Parliament. In its in-depth focus on the Lok Sabha, the volume highlights the way the Parliament has come to encompass India's proverbial diversity. It especially demonstrates the route this institution has taken to engage with fractious issues of diverging linguistic and regional demands.

This book analyses the systematic and procedural issues that are faced by women in the Parliament and brings to light the systematic ignorance of certain issues supported by data on the Parliamentary Debates, Question Hours and functioning of Parliamentary Committees. Combining these technical issues with substantive legal arguments in favour of gender mainstreaming, this book acts as a tool of strategic advantage for policymakers, legislators, advocates and researchers. This work unearths not only the problem areas of the research theme, but also dedicates a solution which relies on effective monitoring techniques used globally, specifically to achieve the SDGs in the field of Nutrition, Family Planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health.

The role of women in India has changed significantly over the past few years. Globalization, urbanization, industrialization and privatization all played an important role in this development. After India became independent, several provisions for women were added to the Constitution of India, which is now one of the most rights-based constitutions in the world. Drafted around the same time as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights- UNO (1948), the Indian Constitution captures the essence of human rights in its Preamble, and elaborates these rights further in the sections on Fundamental Rights and on the Directive Principles of State Policy. The protection of women’s rights and the enhancement of their social and economic possibilities have become important political issues. Due to these socio- political changes, women have already gotten the opportunity to take important offices in India, including that of president, prime minister, speaker of the Lok Sabha and leader of the opposition. With the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act from 1992 and the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act from 1993, women are furthermore empowered in local level government bodies. Apart from the political changes, women in India now also participate in all social activities and take part in sports, media, art and culture, science and technology. This book takes a look at every aspect of a woman’s life, such as education, marriage, family and health, in order to give a thorough and accurate account of the role of women in today’s India.

Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their capacities.The subject of empowerment of women has becoming a burning issue all over the world including India since last few decades. Many agencies of United Nations in their reports have emphasized that gender issue is to be given utmost priority. It is held that women now cannot be asked to wait for any more for equality.Inequalities between men and women and discrimination against women have also been age-old issues all over the world. Thus, women’s quest for equality with man is a universal phenomenon.The sex ratio in India has improved from 930 in 1971 to 940 as per 2011 census. The female literacy has also increased from 18.3% in 1961 to 74% in 2011, in addition to decrease in male-female literacy gap from 26.6% in 1981 to 16.7% in 2011.These indicators may show improvement, however, the pace is not desirable.The economic empowerment of women is a vital element of strong economic growth in any country. Empowering women enhances their ability to influence changes and to create a better society.Empowering Women through Education: “Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process”. In the political field, the reservation for women is a significant step forward towards their political empowerment. When thirty-three percent reservation for women in Parliament becomes a reality, women’s voice will be heard in the highest forum of democracy.into lime-light the constraints and benefits of empowering women at the integrated process of development and social change. All the articles have been covering a wide range of issues relating to women, particularly women living at grassroots level, downtrodden and helpless.The Article on ‘Efficacy of Entrepreneurial Training Self Help Group Women’ presents the entrepreneurial training given to SHG women to equip them with all the skills required for the establishment and smooth functioning of their micro-enterprises and their responses during pre-training, training and post-training phases.I hope that this book is highly useful to the students and researchers in women’s studies and related fields. I derived encouragement and support from my Husband Mr. P. Muthukumar, Daughter Er. M. Sangeetha and Son Er. M. Vignesh for finalizing these papers. My thanks are due to Mr. Janarthanan of MJP Publishers, Chennai, Tirunelveli and New Delhi, for his constant support and meticulous care in publishing this book.